Landbay’s landlord survey found that over 80% of landlords saw the BTL market as either unstable or unpredictable, with 55.6% describing it as ‘somewhat unpredictable’ and 26.3% saying it was ‘highly volatile’.
As a result, 35.3% of landlords said they had reduced activity, and 21.8% had delayed plans.
The survey found that 49.6% of respondents had less confidence in their ability to access BTL finance, but, positively, 45.1% said their sentiment around lending had not changed. Landbay said this suggested landlords still believed funding was accessible despite the state of the market.
Landbay said product availability had improved in recent weeks, and many lenders were reintroducing ranges and bringing in more stable pricing.
The lender said the findings showed the role of advisers in helping landlords understand the market, particularly around product choice. More than half – 57.9% – of landlords said BTL choice was ‘limited’ and 24.8% said it was ‘very limited’.
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Landlord activity holds firm
Landbay’s survey found that landlord activity levels were still high, as 25.6% of landlords said they had completed a BTL mortgage in the last month and 24.1% were progressing with a case, representing recent or current engagement among nearly half of respondents.
Mortgage advisers remained key, as over 82% of respondents used a broker from the outset when arranging their latest mortgage, while nearly a tenth attempted to arrange finance themselves but later sought a broker’s guidance.
Lending certainty grows in importance
The survey found that landlords wanted more certainty, consistency and communication from lenders, shifting away from the previous focus on competitive pricing.
Some 66.2% still said competitive rates were most important, but 44.4% said they wanted certainty once a mortgage offer had been issued. A further 36.1% wanted stability in pricing during the application process and 34.6% looked for consistent product availability.
A significant proportion of landlords faced minimal setbacks with their most recent application, with 39.8% experiencing no issues. However, the majority did, as 27.8% said they needed to act fast to secure products, 19.5% experienced delays due to changing market conditions and 18.8% had to switch products during the application process.
Landlords are still active and engaged
Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay, said: “The purpose of this section of our survey was to understand how landlords have been coping with the volatility and uncertainty we saw during March and April, and whether this had materially shifted confidence, activity or borrowing behaviour.
“What comes through very clearly is landlords remain active and engaged with the market, but they are placing much greater value on certainty, consistency and communication from lenders and advisers.”
Stanton said although rates were still important, landlords wanted confidence that products would remain available, cases would progress smoothly, and they could rely on the support of lenders.
He added: “It is also very telling that almost half of respondents have either completed or are currently progressing a mortgage despite the recent instability. Activity is still very much there, and advisers continue to play an incredibly important role in helping landlord borrowers navigate changing market conditions.
“The fact nearly 10% initially attempted to arrange finance themselves before moving to an adviser also demonstrates the increasing value of professional support in a more complex market.
“At Landbay, our focus now, and throughout recent market conditions, remains on supporting brokers and their landlord clients through consistency, clear communication and reliable product support.”
